Facebook bans ads on binary options, ICOs and cryptocurrency

Facebook has created a new policy to hammer ads that use misleading promotional practices on all its platforms, especially financial products and services. A move that effectively bans all ads for binary options trading, cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs).

On Tuesday, January 30, Facebook product management director Rob Leathern announced a new ads policy to curb deceptive products and services associated with binary options, cryptocurrency and ICOs. It includes the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network.

Two of our core advertising principles outline our belief that ads should be safe, and that we build for people first. Misleading or deceptive ads have no place on Facebook.

A sweeping ads policy

Leathern said they designed a sweeping policy to protect consumers from scams. But Facebook will revisit the policy to refine how they will enforce this across each product and service.

We want people to continue to discover and learn about new products and services through Facebook ads without fear of scams or deception.

Leathern added that some companies who advertise binary options, cryptocurrencies and ICOs do not operate with honest intentions.

Facebook has its limitations in catching the bad guys. It is encouraging the community to report content that violates all its ads policies.

You can report any Facebook ad by clicking the dropdown arrow icon at its upper right-hand corner and selecting Report.

Leathern said they are imposing stricter policies to enhance the security and integrity of Facebook ads. They are making it harder for scammers and clickbait to profit across the company’s products and services.

The rise of cryptocurrency

In the past few years, interest in cryptocurrency shoot up. With this in mind, it makes sense that the world’s largest social network is slamming doors on misleading ads that prey on its billions of users.

Cryptocurrency is volatile and hard to regulate. Scammers are using this instability to dupe as many people as they can.

On Friday, January 26, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck lost and will refund $400 million worth of stolen NEM tokens.

CoinCheck is not a scam. It is a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange and one of Japan’s largest. The issue is the amount of money floating in cryptocurrency exchanges and the ability of hackers to sneak past security walls unknowingly.

Coincheck co-founder Yusuke Otsuka said in a press conference at the Tokyo Stock Exchange that they haven’t figured out yet how the $400 million NEM tokens went missing.

Hard-earned investor’s money seems vulnerable. Cointelegraph reported that hackers stole the coins through transactions from a “hot wallet”. They secured the private key for the wallet to access the NEM coins.

A hot wallet is a checking account for cryptocurrencies that helps with coin transfers. It is not for long-term storage, which makes for an easier target than higher-security cryptocurrency wallets.

Facebook’s ban for binary options, ICOs and cryptocurrency will irk some advocates. But with the recent incident and the battles Facebook is facing, suppressing deceptive cryptocurrency ads before they break lose makes sense.

All is not lost though. Earlier this month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed interest in studying the “positive and negative aspects” of cryptocurrency and how to use them in his company’s services.